What's hot & not in the Lithuanian Health & Benefits market...!

The #lithuanian language is considered to be the oldest surviving Indo-European language, and according to one of the calculations, #lithuania is defined as the Geographical Centre of Europe!

According to the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, life expectancy in Lithuania in 2020 was the third lowest in the EU and just under 6 years below the EU average. It has been reported that although the increase in life expectancy between 2010 and 2019 in Lithuania was the fastest in the EU, the impact of COVID-19 was a major setback for the country. Overall, fewer than half of the (approx. 2.7million) population, and only one quarter of low-income households, reported being in good health – the lowest in the EU!

The mandatory Health & Benefits in #lithuania?include a three-tiered pension system, social healthcare, and (very) generous maternity leave etc. However, Lithuania does have a number of wider supplementary-style Health & Benefits including: #privatehealthinsurance plus retirement and flexible benefits, and for now, wider “perks” are not very common.

Pension

The Lithuanian #pension scheme became operational in 2004, allowing residents to accumulate a part of their social insurance contributions in private pension funds. The pension system in Lithuania is made up of three-Pillars in which pensions are accumulated differently.

• Pillar I: This is the state’s social security system through which individuals are insured or insure themselves for a social insurance pension.
• Pillar II: New sources of financing were introduced in 2019: a person’s personal contribution (3% of the person’s gross wage) and the state’s contribution (1.5% of the national average wage). Once a pension fund scheme has been set up, people are not allowed to withdraw funds before reaching pension age. Pension scheme eligibility: Employed persons under 40 years of age, and all persons who are currently taking part in the pension scheme, are included in the new scheme and have the opportunity to opt out.
• Pillar III: This comprises voluntary contributions to a pension fund or participation in a life insurance scheme.

Maternity / Childcare Benefits

Nordic countries might be well known for their generous leave policies, but #lithuania?may beat them all! The #maternity benefit is 77.58 % of the compensated recipient’s wages. When we look at how the childcare benefit works, either parent can be on childcare leave for 1 or 2 years and, depending on the term, different benefit levels apply:

• 1 year of childcare leave: until the child reaches age 1, 77.58% replacement wage
• 2 years childcare leave: until the child reaches 2 years of age, first year 54.31% replacement wage, second year 31.03% replacement wage

Usually, companies provide a one-time bonus after a child is born. Bonus size varies depending on the company’s internal policies or conditions agreed within the work / collective agreements.

Healthcare

As with most countries, the number one Health & Benefit that people in #lithuania?truly appreciate is supplementary health insurance. Although the state healthcare is considered good, everyday coverage such as #dentalcare is not included, and waiting times are increasing.

Supplemental plans will typically offer a free annual check-up, dental care, and vision aids, free limit for medication.

Focus on Employee Wellbeing

This is a key issue in #lithuania!

The reported high mortality rates and poor health status of the #lithuania?population are said to be largely linked to behavioural risk factors. Reports by the OECD show it is estimated that around half of all deaths in Lithuania can be attributed to behavioural and environmental risk factors, including dietary risks, smoking, alcohol, and low physical activity.

We are seeing a number of very large local employers or offices of overseas headquartered businesses starting to provide on-site gym facilities in order to help support the health & fitness of their employees. There is also a move from those smaller employers wanting to add something to their wider Health & Benefits package, incorporating gym subsidies.

When you assess the overweight and obesity rates in Lithuania among adults, the statistics show these are slightly above the EU average, but these are increasing in the adolescent population.

There is a hurdle! Sports clubs / gym perks are sadly now included in taxable services, and to reimburse for these services through health insurance (a common practice), additional taxes would apply hence these perk-style benefits are no longer common!

In response, a policy on promoting healthy eating and physical activity was adopted in 2020. It set out guidance for the planning and evaluation of these activities for municipal public health bureaus, and mainly relies on tackling population health literacy, improving the nutritional value of school meals and other foods, and creating an environment that enables a healthy lifestyle. Whilst this policy goes someway to supporting individual health & fitness, more needs to be done to offset taxes where gym-related perks are concerned.

Lithuania has some way to tackle the wider #wellbeing discussion but with the additional taxes on those benefits seen as perks (which Wellbeing currently sits) for now this will mainly be led by those overseas headquartered companies with offices in #lithuania where we are seeing employers being creative with how they encourage healthy bevaviours, such as installing playrooms, lounges, and promoting healthy eating, exercise etc.